Floor machine



May 5, 1936. F* C. H|LD 2,039,903

FLOOR MACHINE Filed July 30, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 zz MAM@ @//eWz/f'fMay 5, '1935 F. c. HILD l 2,039,903

FLOOR MACHINE Filed July 30, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 5, 1936UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

My invention relates to door machines and has for its objectimprovements which will adapt a well known form of floor machine tooperate in a superior manner for the washing of carpets and rugs whilethey are on the floor where they are intended to remain.

A machine of this kind usually has a circular v frame on the top ofwhich is carried an electric motor, and from the side of which there isa handie corresponding to the handle of a carpet sweeper. Beneath theframe is an annular brush of substantially the same diameter as theframe, and one which is removably connected to a vertical axle driven bythe motor.

There are two types of these machines. In one type, the entire weight ofthe machine rests upon the brush and is eiective as pressure inscrubbing, waxing and polishing iioors. This form of machine isself-propelled over the iioor, and the directicn of movement iscontrolled by manipulating the handle. The other type of floor machinerests partly on Wheels journaled in the frame, and is propelled over thefloor by the operator. While not so eiiicient in scrubbing andpolishing, it is preferred by persons not skillful in operatingtheself-propelled machine.

One object to be attained in adapting a floor machine to the washing ofcarpets, rugs and other fabrics is to regulate the pressure of the brushon the surface being washed so as not to injure it. This is accomplishedby providing wheel journals which are adjustable on the frame of themachine. By adjusting the position of the journals, the pressure on thesurface being washed is regulated, and by moving the wheels out ofoperative position, the machine is of the rst type described.

In washing fabrics in situ, the practice has been to pour a soapsolution, or other liquid cleanser, on the face of the fabric, and thenrun the brush over it. This causes an initial unequal distribution ofliquid which is wasteful in operation and Wets a heavy rug thru to thefloor. When a rug or carpet is thus saturated with the cleansing liquid,it requires much time for it to dry, and that is objectionable becauseof keeping occupants out of the room. I overcome that objection bydelivering the solution uniformly to the bristles of the brush, downwhich it iiows to the surface of the fabric. As grease and dirt in a rugare confined principally to the upper surface, it is only necessary touse enough solution to penetrate about half Way thru. A second object ofmy invention is to provide means for conveying the cleansing liquid t`othe fabric face by way of the bristles of the brush as distinguishedfrom pouring it mst on the fabric and afterwards having it engaged bythe brush.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine complete;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged planof the brush used in washing; and l Fig. 5 is a still more enlargedsection on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and illustrating the course of thecleansing fluid used in washing.

In the said drawings, the frame I0 has a motor I I mounted thereon.'I'he motor has a horizontal 15 shaft which is connected thru gears Inthe housing I2 and frame I 0 with a vertical shaft located under themotor.

Secured to one side of the frame I0 is a handle I4, on which is a liquidholding reservoir or tank I5 having a discharge pipe I6. Convenientlysupported on the handle I4 is a rod I'I by which the operator maycontrol the flow of liquid from the tank I5.

So far, the description applies to machines Well known on the market asbeing used for washing rugs and carpets on the floor. In those machines,the discharge from the pipe I6 is directly to the floor at about theplace where the wheels 33 are shown in Fig. 1. In the pres- 30 entconstruction, the discharge from pipe I6 ls thru a pipe or hose I8 to anipple I9 (Fig. 5) supported in the frame and discharging on the top ofthe brush over its innermost ring of bristles. 35

'Ihe bristles of the-brush are secured in a metal back instead of theordinary wooden one so that it will notbe affected by the liquiddischarged thereon, said back being provided with a huh 25, whereby itmay be attached to the 40 usual shaft (not shown) driven by the motorII. The bristles 2| are secured in annular rows as is customary withother brushes. 'Ihe upper face of the back 20 has recesses or grooves 22between the rows of bristles, and in these grooves are holes 23 for thepassage of liquid discharged from the nipple I9. The brush is attachedto and released from the driving spindle by a bayonet lock 34 which isthe same as the bayonet lock used in connecting and removing theordinary brush.

The brush is driven at from to 200 revolutions per minute according tosize or special requirements. The liquid which is discharged from thestationary nipple I9 falls on the back 65 of the revolving brush and isthrown by centrifugal force into the nearest groove 22. From here, partof the liquid passes down thru the holes 23 and engages the bristles, asindicated by the short arrows, and part of it is thrown by centrifugalforce over the bridge 2l to the next outer groove or channel 22. Herethe operation is repeated. Part of the liquid passes down thru holes 23,and part is thrown over to the third channel. At the outer edge of theback 20 is an annular lip 25 high enough to prevent liquid being thrownout over the floor beyond the brush instead of by way of the bristles.

The discharge of liquid to and from the nipple I9 is controlled manuallyby the operator thru the rod I1. The movement of the liquid afterleaving the nipple is determined partly by the speed of rotation, and bythe depth of the channels and the sizes of the holes, and partly by thespacing of the holes in the channels. These are all variables which aredetermined with respect to each other. In this connection it may benoted that the liquid which falls into a channel between the holestherein is thrown over into the next channel.

Mounted in the frame I0 is a rotatable shaft 2B having teeth 21 cut atthe central portion thereof. Supported to reciprocate in a bracket 28 isa block 29 having corresponding teeth cut in a concave face thereof, anda screw 30 operates to move the teeth of block 29 to and from contactwith the teeth 21 on shaft 26. This is a device for securing the shaft26 rmly at any one of a large number of positions which differ from eachother by small adjustments.

Secured to the ends of shaft 26 are arms 3l which carry pins 32 whichform journals for wheels 33. These wheels may rest on the floor as shownin full lines in Fig. 1, or they may be raised therefrom as shown indotted lines.

The bristles of a brush are yielding and not rigid things, and the loadon the top of the brush is rather heavy. The object to be operated uponby a brush may vary from a solid floor to a fabric which would bedamaged by a load which was less than one-half of the load appropriatefor a solid floor. Also, a brush which has been used for some time is asgood as it was before, but its bristles are shorter as the result ofwear. It will be evident that the parts from 2B to 33 furnish means foradjusting for wear on the bristles, and also for regulating the pressureof the brush upon the object which it engages. The adjustment involvedis by fine degrees, and is one which cannot be displaced by vibrationsdue to high speed in running a brush over a floor.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for cleaning the pile of a carpet, a circular brush backprovided with a central hub adapted to engage an operating shaft, andhaving a plurality of rows of openings therein, bristles depending fromthe lower face of said brush back and so located with respect to saidopenings that cleansing solution deposited upon the upper face of saidback will ow through the openings to the upper portions of approximatelyall of the bristles, and will travel downwardly thereover to the area tobe cleaned; and means on the top face of said back and contiguous tosaid openings for effecting approximately uniform distribution of saidcleansing solution to all of said openings under the iniiuence ofmovements imparted to the brush during cleaning operations.

2. In a machine for cleaning the pile of a carpet, a circular foraminousbrush back adapted to be rotatively mounted in said machine, bristlesdepending from the lower face of said back and so arranged with respectto the openings that cleansing fluid deposited upon the upper surface ofsaid back will flow downwardly through the openings to the upperportions of approximately al1 of the bristles and will travel downwardlythereover to the area to be cleaned, and bridges on the top face of saidbrush back located contiguously to said openings for effectingapproximately uniform distribution of the deposited cleansing fluid toall of the openings under the influence of centrifugal force developedby said rotation.

3. In a floor machine of the character described, a brush back, bristlessecured to the back and projecting from one face thereof in a manner toprovide a series of concentric annular brushes, the other face of saidback having concentric annular recesses therein, the bottom walls ofsaid recesses having perforations extended through the back to the brushsurface thereof at positions so located as to direct liquid flowing intosaid channels through said perforations to the upper parts of saidbristles.

4. In a floor machine vof the character described, a brush back havingtop surface provided with a plurality of concentric bridge portionsseparated by concentric open-topped channels having perforations intheir bottom walls, and bristles secured to the lower face of said headso as to provide a plurality of concentric annular brushes, the channelsin the top face of said back being so positioned that the perforationsof each channel are located between two annular brushes, saidperforations being so located as to direct liquid from the recesses tothe upper parts of the bristles.

5. In a machine of the character described, a brush back having aplurality of annular bridge portions separated by annularopentoppedchannels having perforations therein and bristles secured tothe back and projecting from the lower face thereof, said bristles beingarranged in the form of concentric annular brushes coinciding with therespective bridge portions, so that each of said channels is locatedbetween two annular rows of bristles, the channels and the perforationstherein being to located as to direct flowable liquid from said channelsto the upper parts of the bristles, and an annular rib arranged at theperiphery of the brush and extended above the plane of said bridgeportions.

FRED C. HILD.

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